1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for recognizing tissue parameters during a surgical procedure, and more particularly to methods and apparatus of energy-based tissue sealing that employ optical components for recognizing tissue parameters.
2. Background of Related Art
Existing energy-based tissue-sealing devices use different types of energy to heat tissue. The different types of energy used to heat tissue include direct heat conduction from a heating element (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,346), RF current (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,384,420), and ultrasound (see, e.g., U.S. Publication No. 2007/10179379). A typical energy-based tissue-sealing device includes jaw members for grasping and compressing the tissue and applying energy to the tissue.
During a surgical procedure, it is important for a surgeon to be able to determine the exact location of and the type of structures within tissue. For example, when performing a tissue-sealing procedure, it is important for a surgeon to be able to determine the exact location of and the type of vessel within tissue. This information allows a surgeon to correctly position the jaw members of a tissue-sealing instrument with respect to the vessel so that the surgeon can create a high-quality tissue seal. Correctly positioning the tissue-sealing instrument is especially important during laparoscopic operations when the surgeon's field of view may be limited.
Existing tissue-sealing instruments may not provide sufficient information about the location of vessels within tissue or other information about the vessels within tissue. Also, typical tissue-sealing instrument designs include jaw members that are not transparent. As a result, the jaw members tend to block or obscure the surgeon's view of tissue grasped by the jaw members.